


It's Not Enough [Whumptober 2020]

by chemically_imbalanced_romance



Series: Whumptober 2020/Cult AU [7]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Blood, Blood and Injury, Cults, Gaslighting, Humiliation, M/M, Manipulation, Multi, Restraints, a person in a cage, treating people like property
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26872495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chemically_imbalanced_romance/pseuds/chemically_imbalanced_romance
Summary: [Whumptober 2020 Day 7; Cult AU] Remus checks on Virgil and Janus, then gives them some alone time.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: Whumptober 2020/Cult AU [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947007
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	It's Not Enough [Whumptober 2020]

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: No. 7: I’ve Got You [Enemy to Caretaker]

_ October 9th. 6:24 am.  _

They were quiet as Remus changed Janus’ bandages. 

Virgil kept staring at him with a look Janus had never seen on him before— meek, insecure… Guilty. Virgil must have not realized Janus noticed, because he startled when Janus rested a hand on his knee and said, “I’m not upset.” 

Virgil wet his lips. “It would have been over a lot sooner if I followed your lead.” 

Janus thought for a moment, eyes following Remus’ gentle fingers wrapping fresh gauze around his forearm. The bleeding had since stopped, Janus’ old, sticky bandages sitting on a pile next to them. “I don’t want you to follow my lead. I don’t want you to act like me.” He hesitantly met Virgil’s teary eyes. “I don’t care what they did to us. I’m glad you didn’t give up.” 

He wiped his nose and sniffled. “But… Then why didn’t you say something?” 

Janus’ gaze fell. His chest clenched in embarrassment. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words. 

“You’re surviving in different ways,” Remus said as he started in on Janus’ legs. “Fighting back… It’s good. It’s brave. But Janus can’t do that.”

Janus nodded hesitantly. “Right. I… I would break a lot faster. It’s better they don’t know what’s going on my head.” 

Virgil stayed silent a moment, frowning as his mind worked, before asking softly, “How long do we have?” 

Remus finished Janus’ last bandage and beckoned Virgil closer. “A few hours. I told Bates you might suffer internal bleeding if you’re kept cramped in the cage too soon. Besides, everyone aside from a few guards have gone to bed by now, and they won’t come in here.” He smiled encouragingly. “There’s nothing to worry about, Virgil.”

He inched away from his spot pressed against his open cage door, settling next to Janus and offering an arm. Remus carefully unwrapped one of his bandages. 

Exasperation twisted Virgil’s face. “You’re not like them. Why didn’t you leave with Janus and his friends?”

Janus and Remus’ gazes snapped to the staircase. “Lower your voice,” Janus muttered without moving his gaze. 

“You said we were safe.” 

Remus brought his attention back to Virgil’s wounds. “You can’t be too careful. And to answer your question… Well, no offense to you, Janus, but I wouldn’t call where you are now better than before.” 

Janus pursed his lips. Virgil glared. “That’s stupid. The others are still free, and we aren’t staying here.” 

Janus looked at him in surprise. “You still want me to come with you?” He’d expected Virgil to realize by now that all Janus does is drag him down. 

His pale face flushed pink. “‘Course.” 

Janus hid a smile. Virgil was, undeniably, very pretty. His hair, though messy, was a lovely shade of faded purple, almost lavender. His brown eyes were so dark they were almost black, and all his features were round and small. He was malnourished, but a cute layer of fat clung stubbornly to his tummy and thighs. 

When he was upset, it changed the air around him. He was a walking tornado warning. His pale skin turned red, his eyes grew sharp, his nails turned to talons. He was the kind of boy that simultaneously terrified Janus and turned him on— Just his type. 

“How do you even get wrapped up in all this?” 

Virgil’s voice was raspy, like Janus’ own. It chased shivers across his skin, but he couldn’t fully enjoy it knowing where it came from. He imagined what it would be like if Virgil’s voice was wrecked through… Other means. 

_ Focus, you moron. Don’t be a creep.  _

“Bates is persuasive,” Remus said. ““And he knew about us before we knew about him.” 

“Knew about you, knew about you how?”

He hesitated. “He knew what we wanted. I was, uh, homeless when he found me. I’d been kicked out of all the shelters and the police were pretty thorough, you couldn’t stay in place for more than five minutes without being called a loiterer.” He focused his gaze on packing up his supplies as he spoke. “I couldn’t find anywhere to sleep, you know? I was just… Wandering, for days. Bates saw me, more out of it than a Romero, and let me sleep in the backseat of his car.” He laughed weakly. “I was going to stay as long as he’d let me, and he knew that, so he never asked me to leave. That’s all it was. He never asked me to leave.” 

Virgil swallowed. He looked to Janus. “And you? What did you want?” 

Janus gave him a shaky grin. “Ask Bates. I have no idea.” 

Remus folded his hands in his lap and sighed. “I know what it looks like, Virgil. I know you must be thinking that anyone who could follow this man, even for a second, must be psychotic, but… We weren’t all dragged in here with our hands tied. And all those murderers in the auditorium didn’t start out that way. I have no doubt in my mind that if Bates approached you, on his own, while you worked a shift at the motel, you’d have joined the audience within the week.” 

“And when Janus and I actually get out of here, you’re just going to stay? Stick around until this place is burned to the ground?” 

Janus looked at Virgil out of the corner of his eye. Virgil’s hands trembled, but his voice was steady, determined. 

“Yes.” 

He scowled.  _ “Why?”  _

“Because I’m not like you two. Bates would catch me, bring me back- That is, if he could find me before I came back on my own.” 

“But you’re not happy here,” Virgil said in frustration. “You look  _ miserable _ .” 

Remus smiled. “Maybe I’m just not meant to be happy.”

“That’s  _ bullshit _ . Why would-”

“Shh.” Janus grabbed his hand, eyes wide. He whispered, “You’re going to draw attention. You want Bates or Styx to come in here, force you back in your cage?” 

Virgil’s grip tightened, their fingers lacing. “No.” 

“I’ll give you some time alone.” Remus stood and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll be right outside, so don’t worry about someone coming in and getting upset.” He hesitated, looking away. “I…” He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. “I am so sorry. Just- What he did to you.” 

Janus reached for him, and Remus crouched to take his hand. “It’s not your fault, Remus. You helped us.” 

He shook his head, eyes watering. “It’s not enough. You don’t belong here- Neither of you do.” 

“That’s sweet, but it doesn’t change much,” Virgil said flatly. “We are here, and we would be dead on that stage if you weren’t here, too.” 

“It’s not enough.” Remus pulled his hand free to cup Janus’ face. He dropped his voice to a whisper as a few tears dripped down his face. “I’m going to get you two out of here, okay?”

Janus’ eyes widened. “What? Remus, you can’t-”

“Shh.” Remus leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. “I’m going to. I just need to figure out how first. You two should stretch, get some rest. I’ll be right outside, and I’ll let you know when it’s time to get back.” 

He ran his thumb over Janus’ cheekbone, then dashed up the stairs. The door locked behind him. 

Virgil pulled his hand free with a shaky sigh. “He’s… Weird.” Janus nodded dumbly. “Are you together?” 

Janus looked at him. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Sometimes. Not since I got back, obviously, but before.”

Virgil leaned his head against the wall and stared at the ceiling. “He cares about you. Enough to risk his life. He wouldn’t even do that for himself. We’re taking him with us, aren’t we? We can’t let someone like that go.”

Janus chuckled softly, memorizing Virgil’s face. “You’re right.”

Virgil looked at him, eyebrows raised. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” 

“You came back for me. That was stupid.” 

Virgil’s eyes trailed over his face, then back to his eyes. “Yeah, well. Like I said. You can’t let someone like that go.” 

Janus’ gaze drifted behind him, at the cage. “How do you sleep in that thing?” 

“I don’t,” he laughed. “I don’t think I’ve slept since we got here, not really.” 

Janus pat his lap. “We’ve got a few hours. Let me thank you.” 

He blushed. “Don’t you want to get up, stretch? Before we’re locked up again?”

“I think this would help both of us more,” he admitted. 

Virgil hesitated, then crawled over to sit between Janus’ legs, back pressed against his chest. Janus wrapped his arms around Virgil’s soft tummy and held him close. They both sighed, Janus leaning down to nuzzle Virgil’s neck. 

“You’re right,” Virgil mumbled, already half-asleep. “This is better.”

“Go to sleep.” Janus brushed Virgil’s bangs back. “I’ve got you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Every fic my trigger warning list gets bigger and bigger and I don’t know what’s happening. Also, this is the comfort we’ve all been waiting for lol, dw there’ll be more. Eventually.


End file.
